Multimodal Gold Nanostars as SERS Tags for Optically-Driven Doxorubicin Release Study in Cancer Cells.

Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) active gold nanostars represent an opportunity in the field of bioimaging and drug delivery. The combination of gold surface chemical versatility with the possibility to tune the optical properties changing the nanoparticles shape constitutes a multimodal approach for the investigation of the behavior of these carriers inside living cells. In this work, SERS active star-shaped nanoparticles were functionalized with doxorubicin molecules and covered with immuno-mimetic thiolated polyethylene glycol (PEG). Doxorubicin-conjugate gold nanoparticles show an intense Raman enhancement, a good stability in physiological conditions, and a low cytotoxicity. The strong adsorption of the anticancer drug doxorubicin in close contact with the gold nanostars surface enables their use as SERS tag imaging probes in vivo. Upon laser irradiation of the nanoparticles, a strong SERS signal is generated by the doxorubicin molecules close to the nanostars surface, enabling the localization of the nanoparticles inside the cells. After long time irradiation, the SERS signal drops, indicating the thermally driven delivery of the drug inside the cell. Therefore, the combination of SERS and laser scanning confocal microscopy is a powerful technique for the real-time analysis of drug release in living cells.

Robotic and Sensor Technology for Upper Limb Rehabilitation.

Robotic and sensor-based neurologic rehabilitation for the upper limb is an established concept for motor learning and is recommended in many national guidelines. The complexity of the human hands and arms and the different activities of daily living are leading to an approach in which robotic and sensor-based devices are used in combination to fulfill the multiple requirements of this intervention. A multidisciplinary team of the Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi (FDG), an Italian nonprofit foundation, which spans across the entire Italian territory with 28 rehabilitation centers, developed a strategy for the implementation of robotic rehabilitation within the FDG centers. Using an ad hoc form developed by the team, 4 robotic and sensor-based devices were identified among the robotic therapy devices commercially available to treat the upper limb in a more comprehensive way (from the shoulder to the hand). Encouraging results from a pilot study, which compared this robotic approach with a conventional treatment, led to the deployment of the same set of robotic devices in 8 other FDG centers to start a multicenter randomized controlled trial. Efficiency and economic factors are just as important as clinical outcome. The comparison showed that robotic group therapy costs less than half per session in Germany than standard individual arm therapy with equivalent outcomes. To ensure access to high-quality therapy to the largest possible patient group and lower health care costs, robot-assisted group training is a likely option.

Simple, common but functional: biocompatible and luminescent rare-earth doped magnesium and calcium hydroxides from miniemulsion.

Nanostructured (d∼ 20-35 nm) and highly luminescent Ca(OH)2:Ln and Mg(OH)2:Ln (Ln = EuIII, SmIII, TbIII, Mg(Ca)/Ln = 20 : 1 atomic) nanostructures were obtained in inverse (water in oil - w/o) miniemulsion (ME), by exploiting the nanosized compartments of the droplets to spatially confine the hydroxide precipitation in basic environment (NaOH). The functional nanostructures were prepared using different surfactants (Span80 (span) and a mixture of Igepal co-630 and Brij 52 (mix)) to optimise ME stability and hydroxide biocompatibility as well as tune the droplet sizes. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analyses testify the achievement of a pure brucite-Mg(OH)2-phase and pure portlandite-Ca(OH)2-phase with a high degree of crystallinity. Besides structural characterisations, the products were thoroughly characterised by means of several and complementary techniques (dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), micro-Raman spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR)) to assess their chemico-physical properties as well as their morphological and microstructural features. The stoichiometry of the doped systems was confirmed using ICP-MS measurements. Finally, the cytotoxicity of the nanoparticles was assessed by in vitro tests using ES2 cells in order to provide preliminary data on the biocompatibility of this kind of nanoparticles. The luminescence of the Eu-doped and Tb-doped materials is clearly visible to the naked eye in the red and green regions, respectively, corroborating their employment as materials for imaging in the optical window of interest.